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Tuesday, October 21, 2014

Suki Jezz Breastfeeding Experiences and Tips

Hello, it has been a while since we last met on my website or blog. Guess you might be wondering what had happened. I have been busy getting pregnant, that is why!

Well, I delivered a wonderful baby boy on 12 Aug 2014. His beautiful eyes and cheeky smile melt my heart every time when I come back home from work.

Let me show you some cute photos of him…and oh yeah, currently he is fully breastfeed...so if you are worry your baby looks skinny if you breastfeed, don't worry! See my cute and fat baby boy...

Jason Oh Photography

Jason Oh Photography

Just like others mommies to be, I have a brand new chapter in my life, and I have to learn how to become a mother. Breastfeeding is one of the lessons to learn. Way back to the 70s or 80s, most of the mother opt for formula milk as it is more convenient and during those days, advertisement and branding of encourage mommies to use formula powder was over-promoted.

Right now, more and more people encourage mothers to breastfeed, which is why I am keen to explore for more info about it.

As we can get million of different stories from the internet, I will just filter those details that make sense to me. I also seek advice from my lactation lady, Ms AC Lee from Gleneagles Ampang. You can contact her at 03-4141 3000 ext 1801.

So based on my breastfeeding experiences, here are some useful tips for all breastfeeding mothers:

Breastfeed and Breast Pump

1. Breastfeed is important, especially for 0-6 months old baby.

2. Breastfeed every 2- 3 hours, and every time is 15-20 minutes.

3. Make sure you breastfeed/ breast pump at night to ensure good supply of milk.

4. Must respond immediately when a baby cries for hunger. How to know if your baby cues if they are hungry? Bear in mind, you must know the hungry cues, because if you always offer your breast everytime your baby cries, they will rely on your breast as a pacifier or very attached to your breast, even when they are not hungry as they grow.

6. Mother must drink 3 liter water a day, as 90% breastfeed milk is made of water and sugar.

7. For the first few days, mother breast milk will contain colostrum, an extra antibody milk.

8. During the confinement period, for the first 12 days, try not to have ginger or ginseng, (任何参的产品), as your baby’s kidney is not well developed and indigestion of ginger and ginseng might increase the chances for your baby to get jaundice (黄疸病). You can drink red dates (红枣)and Wolfberries (杞子).

9. During the confinement period, for the first 12 days, no Angelica sinensis (commonly known as dong quai or "female ginseng"), no soya sauce, no salt, no egg, no fruits, no cooling vegetables.

10. During the breastfeeding period, do not eat black bean, broccoli, cabbage, guava, or anything contains maltose sugar like MILO as all these will reduce milk supply.

*but I heard MILO can increase milk supply, so I believe this will be depending on each individual.

11. To increase milk supply, take more fish with lots of scales, for example: threadfin (麻油鱼), or salmon; Fenugreek powder and green papaya soup.You can also ask for Chinese herbs from Chinese medicine shop.

12. It is normal that baby poo poo for 7-8 times a day, and it is watery, because breast milk is easier for baby to digest. How to know baby is doing well with the breast milk feeding? From Day 1 - 5, baby will pee pee more than 6 times, pale yellow colour and will poo poo for more than 3 times, from black -> green -> yellow.

13. Breastfeed only 1 side at a time, change sides only if baby still wants to drink more milk or if he is not satisfied.

14. There will be no menstrual period or there might be a menstrual period delay during breastfeeding.

15. You can start wearing nursing bra when you are pregnant 30 weeks onwards. During breastfeed period, do not buy those nursing bras with wiring. Normally, you are recommended to buy the bra size 1 cup bigger than your usual size. You must wear nursing bra and do not go braless, as the friction of your skin against your clothings will cause nipple cracking.

16. Before breastfeed or breast pump, massage your breast, and then push forward, to learn how to massage the breast, please refer to the image below:

17. If you have milk blockage, use a warm towel to suppress the breast. If you have breast engorgement/ breast lump, the most you can wait is only 1-3 days; if it doesn't go away, please seek for doctor advice, take antibiotic that is lactation-safe, and also take lecithin to dilute the breast milk. Try the nipple compression, by twisting the nipples, to reduce the breast engorgement and to encourage breast milk flows smoothly.

18. To use breast pump, pump for every 8 minutes, rest a while, massage the breast, and pump again. Your breast pumping time should be less than 18 minutes for each breast.

19. Breast pump must be done every 4-5 hours if not, you will get breast engorgement or milk reduction.

20. Remember to label your breast milk, to ensure freshness, and check the expiry date. You will find many different temperature readings from the website. As we stay in Malaysia, plus we always open and close our fridge door, this will be the appropriate temperature reading given by my lactation lady,

22. After lunch, drink more water, and when you are full, only pump your breast milk.

23. Use a cooler box and ice pack to maintain the freshness of the milk.

24. NEVER/ DO NOT use wet tissues/ baby wipes to wipe your nipples, as this will cause your nipples crack. It is also dangerous for your baby to feed on your nipple if you wipe nipple with wet tissues still contain chemical ingredients.

*Adding on more tips from the latest lactation nurse advice as per Year 2016:

26. Benefits of breastfeeding - breast milk contains DHA and ARA, which helps the baby to have higher IQ level. Breastfeeding can reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

27. The myth of formula milk: Most people thought that formula milk can make the baby sleep longer because it is fuller. WRONG! This is because formula milk is more complicated and complex for the baby to digest, hence, the babies sleep longer.

28. Learn the right way to let baby latch on:

29. The maximum hours for a fully breastfeed baby to sleep is every 4 hours, especially if he/ she has jaundice. Try to wake your baby up if it exceeds more than 4 hours, in case they get super hungry.

To see a full educational info about breastfeeding, I had scanned the leaflet:

breastfeeding leaflet 1 - what is breastfeed?

breastfeeding leaflet 2 - breastfeeding position (I like side lying the most, because I can sleep and rest when baby is sucking breast milk)

Do not worry if your mother or mother in law has doubts on breastfeeding issues, just tell them to give a handful support on your decision, instead of getting emotional by their negative perception or complaints. After all, all we want is to give the best for the baby, correct? Discuss and explain with them, or else…prove to them that breast milk is really beneficial for baby!

Guide your mother or mother in law in how to prepare the breast milk for baby if they are the one who will take care of your baby.

Guezz Studio - Jackal and Susan

And of course, breastfeeding is a challenging task to do, oh gee…we sound like a cow right, pumping milk from our breasts, haha! There are some disadvantages somehow, for example: mommies might get milk duct, breast infection, dark eyes circles, milk reduction, milk oversupply, and ths list goes on…. But in the end, breastfeeding is all it takes to give your baby the best.

And oh yeah, please get yourself treated in women specialist or hospital if you noticed any swollen, redness, or painful spots on your breast, it might be milk duct or breast infection.

Never delay the treatment, or else you will regret just like me…later on I will share with you my breast infection story…till then…tada!